Amsterdam-Tokyo flight opens way for SAR residents in Europe to return

A flight to Macau from Tokyo via Air Macau is set to transpire on January 21, making it possible to accommodate stranded residents in Europe who wish to return to the SAR as a commercial flight is set to depart from Amsterdam to Tokyo on January 20.
Therefore, the Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) will be contacting stranded local residents in Europe to recommend the upcoming flights.
The estimated landing time of the Dutch carrier KLM in Tokyo is at 9:45 a.m. on January 21, according to a report by TDM.
The flight will occur when at least 80 passengers have confirmed bookings.
The Tokyo-Macau route, meanwhile, will depart the Japanese capital at 3:30 p.m. and will land in the SAR before 9 p.m.
The flight complies with the transit passengers rule imposed by the Japanese civil aviation authorities as the jurisdiction allows stopovers as long as the next flight is within 24 hours upon arrival.
Meanwhile, Air Macau has confirmed that 60% of the 155 seats are already occupied. Today, four tickets were issued and 16 reservations have been made.
GGCT confirmed to the Times last night that those who wish to board the Tokyo-Macau route should arrange a flight from other European countries to Amsterdam themselves before January 20.
This means that residents who are stranded, for example in Portugal, are being advised to immediately seek flights from Lisbon to the Netherlands’ capital.
On Monday, health authorities said that the 37 requests the GGCT has currently received do not suffice to negotiate with neighboring regions to open corridors to accommodate them.
The suspension of transit flights in Taiwan have made it difficult for passengers who wish to come back to Macau as it reduces their already-limited options to return to the city.
The latest changes to Taiwan’s travel restrictions bode badly for Macau, as the city experiences a further reduction in connectivity with other parts of the world, in particular Europe, as Taiwan serves as an integral transit hub for long-haul flights between Macau and more distant countries.
The new strain of Covid-19 hailing from the U.K., which is said to be 70% more contagious than the original strain, was the main reason Taiwan closed its airport to transit passengers.